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Popsinger Harry Styles turned on the charm at the Friends Arena in Solna by screaming in Swedish that he loves meatballs, but some critics were not impressed with the quintet's performance.

One Direction frenzy has gripped Stockholm for much of the week with thousands of fans camping outside the stadium in advance of the group's double header of shows.

"Jag älskar köttbullar. Vi älskar dig" (I love meatballs. We love you), said Styles to the delirium of the 46,770 sell out crowd. He also declared his love for meatballs during last year's Stockholm shows (video below).

The group, which formed four years ago on Britain's X-Factor tv-show, performed for an hour and 40 minutes and belted out their catalogue of hits.

However, despite winning over much of the crowd over with his stab at Swedish Styles' pop group members came in for harsh criticism from Aftobladet reviewer Kristin Lundell.

"The biggest sin that a boyband can indulge in is hubris," she wrote after giving the group's performance just two stars.

Lundell slated the group for showing up 45 minutes late and for the lack of enthusiasm displayed onstage by group member Zayn Malik.

"What's the point of watching him when he's bored? Seriously Zayn, your fans have paid a lot to see you. You need to sharpen up," she wrote.